The present invention relates to microelectromechanical gyroscopes, and in particular to a microelectromechanical gyroscope having parametric gain.
Microelectromechanical (MEMS) gyroscopes are used to detect rotation about an axis. A typical MEMS gyroscope consists of one or more mechanically coupled proof masses formed from silicon. The masses are coupled to a silicon or pyrex substrate by suspension type bridges that act as springs. The gyroscope has two closely spaced modes of oscillation. One of the modes, a motor mode, is driven by electrostatic force at its resonant frequency to produce a relatively large amplitude of oscillation. When rotation is applied to the gyroscope, a Coriolis force is produced which is proportional to the velocity of the proof mass in the motor mode. The Coriolis force drives the second mode of oscillation, the sense mode, of the gyroscope.
One or more sense electrodes are positioned proximate the proof masses which also act as electrodes, to form capacitors. A bias voltage is applied to the sense electrodes so that motion of the proof masses produces an output current. A significant difficulty with MEMS gyroscopes is that small physical asymmetries in the devices can cause a small fraction of the motor mode force to cause some oscillation in the sense mode of oscillation. This mechanical feedthrough signal is referred to as the quadrature signal, because it is 90 degrees out of phase with the Coriolis signal.
The quadrature signal can be quite large, because it is proportional to the large amplitude motor mode oscillation. In contrast, the sense mode motion due to the Coriolis force is typically orders of magnitude smaller than that of the motor mode oscillation. Thus, the quadrature signal may be much larger than the desired Coriolis signal. The quadrature signal can be partially reduced after sensor output by using phase-sensitive detection, or compensated for by calibrating the motor drive at manufacture, or by injecting a compensating current into the sensor using a feedback loop. However, the large ratio of quadrature to Coriolis signals puts severe constraints on the phase error in the phase-sensitive detector.
A microelectromechanical (MEMS) gyroscope has two proof masses mechanically coupled to a substrate by springs. A motor force drives the proof masses at their resonant frequency in one direction, 180 degrees out of phase with each other. Sense electrodes sense motion of the proof masses in response to a Coriolis force. The motion caused by the Coriolis force is perpendicular to the motion caused by the motor force. An AC pump voltage at twice the motor frequency is applied to the sense electrodes to provide parametric amplification of the Coriolis force.
The AC pump voltage on the sense electrodes produces a larger output signal from the Coriolis input force than from a quadrature input force of similar amplitude. The AC pump voltage accomplishes this by altering the mechanical and electrical gain of the gyroscope.